Jack Schulze and Matt Webb, creators of the "Here and There" map, were indeed influenced by games—even some not so obvious ones—but games were just one of many influences. (This is probably a good thing given how limited most in-game maps actually are.)

So far it is simply available in poster form, but a 3D-perspective melded with a top down view would seem to have profound applications outside of gaming. Not that gaming wouldn't see a benefit. Gaming worlds are getting bigger and navigating them can be as daunting as navigating the streets of Manhattan for some of us. A "Here and There"-influenced map would be a godsend.

It's not really all that shocking to learn that things seem to be moving along on the as yet still unannounced sequel to Electronic Arts' survival-horror-in-outer-space game Dead Space, because EA hasn't exactly been all cloak and dagger about the title's existence. Producers hinted at it right after the first game debuted, and now we have yet another piece of confirmation—a listing on a LinkedIn profile (I love game reporting…where huge news scoops come from reading people's social networking mumbo jumbo…)

The page in question belongs to Pratik Patel (and it's now gone—but this is the internet, where nothing is truly gone for forever…) an EA engineer. Essentially, he updated his profile information to include the fact that he's now a Technical/Development director on Dead Space 2. This pretty much confirms what we all already knew—that Dead Space 2 will happen at some point in the not too distant future (I'm guessing E3 sees the official announcement). Big shocker—EA making a sequel? Who'd have guessed.

No details on the game at this point, but here's to hoping it's not a Wii-esque on-rails shooter.

Spent a little time with the Valkyria Chronicles DLCs, Enter the Edy Detachment! and Behind her Blue Flame.

Edy wasn't bad. A little short maybe, but it starred most of the offbeat characters I liked in the main game. Seeing more of them was a good thing.

Blue Flame was kind of pissing me off… it's neat to be able to play as the enemy side, but one big issue I have with Valkyria in general is that a player's performance ranking is based solely on speed of completion and nothing else.

Although I'm not up to full speed, here are some tidbits to tide regular Coffeecola readers over until the next update…

Bayonetta. I get that the main character is a witch who has guns on her shoes, but it's a little impossible not to think that this is a recycled Devil May Cry with a gender switch and a storyline that seems to have a little bit of absurdity to it. Call me crazy, but after watching the storyline trailer available now, I couldn't help but sense echoes of God Hand. Anyone agree?

"...there is a kegger down the hall. We can go as soon as I desecrate this corpse. I'm sorry Marge, where are my manners? Did you want to taunt my kill also? Press the "X" button." - Homer Simpson

If you're like me, on the one hand you're thrilled to see The Simpsons parodying videogames... outside of its own videogames (The Simpsons Hit & Run and The Simpsons Game). On the other hand, you sigh sadly with the realization that the masses are seeing one of the less savory sides of interactive play. Why couldn't the writers lampoon Shadow of the Colossus or Flower? Ah well, it was a pretty funny clip.

Scanning Twitter today, it occurred to me that if all the Pre-E3 rumors about Microsoft and Sony developing motion controllers/devices turn out to be true, then it'll be a massive case of misguidedly missing the point in both instances.

If these whisperings do pan out, it seems obvious that the only reason they'd be pursuing such technology is a direct result of the massive retail success of the Wii as a console. However, I think that trying to emulate such success is impossible—In my view, the Wii sold such absurd numbers of units based on three factors: the novelty of the motion controls, being the cheapest console out of the current three, and being able to leverage both of those qualities (in addition to the Nintendo name) into a fearsome "cool factor". The thought that adding motion controls to the existing consoles might be enough to translate into attracting new "Wii" players is absurd.

While Tim takes some time off to enjoy his new son, we present our very first bonus episode! In these deleted scenes from Episode 14, you'll hear a great segment on how casual games relate to Heather Chaplin’s GDC rant, and then we try to answer that classic gaming question “What is the Citizen Kane of Video Games?” Our answers will shock and amaze you. Featuring Chi Kong Lui, Mike Bracken, David Stone, and the very sleepy Tim Spaeth.

Although I usually have nothing but good to say about Xbox Live, there's one thing that's really been irritating the hell out of me lately.

Every Wednesday or so, I look forward to jumping online with each console and seeing what new DLC is available. I try my best to keep up with it, at the very least keeping tabs on things that look interesting if I don't have the time to play them that very second. The Wii's setup works just fine, and although the PSN isn't structured exactly how I'd like it, it's still not bad. Live used to be my hands-down favorite in terms of finding new DLC easily, but when it comes to the Add-Ons area, I'm sick and tired of new music-game DLC flooding the section and pushing other content out.

I wanted to be more excited about Capcom's Dead Rising 2, but I have to be honest—the first game just left me more aggravated than pleased. Sure, the core idea of the game is brilliant (zombies, mall, everything's a weapon…) but the stupid A.I. and faulty save system killed it for me.

I'm hoping Dead Rising 2 fixes those issues, but even if it doesn't, this trailer has upped my interest almost exponentially. If you jump to the 1:51 mark, you'll see hero Chuck sporting dual chainsaws on a wooden stick—and it may be the coolest thing ever. Not to be outdone, he then straps two chainsaws to his motorcycle, and the zombie slaughter kicks into high gear. I have to be honest, I'll put up with a lot of suck for the opportunity to run around as a dual-saber chainsaw slinging Darth Maul wannabe killing hordes of the undead. This, my friends, is why I love being a gamer.

I'm pretty interested in this Ghostbusters videogame that's due out in June. I think that's because it's like a national law that anyone my age (37 later this year…) love Ghostbusters in general. If you were around the age of 12 when the first film hit, it was probably one of your favorite films. And since it's that rare childhood favorite that still holds up when viewed as an adult, a whole generation still seems to love anything Ghostbusters related.

GameTrailers posted the opening cinematic video from the upcoming game—and I'm impressed. They really nailed the feel of the first movie and I was surprised how much nostalgia this thing inspired in me in the span of a few short minutes. My only complaint is the expository dialogue from the one guard (nice information dump there, guys…), but everything else looks great.

Check it out for yourself and see what you think. The game makes its retail debut on the PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, PC, PS2, and Nintendo DS on June 16th.

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